Updated - eReadMore.com - Borrow and Lend your Kindle books here!

[intenex]

Hello everyone,

Following Amazon's announcement yesterday that the book lending feature had been enabled for the Kindle, I realized that there would only be one small problem with program - how would users possibly find books to borrow from other users?

Thankfully, a solution to the problem wasn't too difficult. I've erected a forum at eReadMore.com, where users can join, post books that they wish to lend, and borrow books that they wish to read.

The forum actively encourages the lending of books through a credit system where the number of books you lend is roughly approximate to the number of books you can borrow. With enough users, we can create a network where potentially any lendable Kindle book can be found on our site and borrowed for free.


The lifeblood of the site is its users, however, and that's why we need you to come and be a part of the site! Join now at eReadMore.com and learn more.


The first ten users to register on the site, accumulate more than ten posts and post two books to lend will be given special VIP status and a free book loan credit.


Thanks for helping!
Ben

[intenex]

Any thoughts on the site? I would love any suggestion and feedback.

[Basekid]

Looks good to me so far. Unfortunately many of my books are not official Amazon books, and therefore unloanable

[OtterBooks]

Following Amazon's announcement yesterday that the book lending feature had been enabled for the Kindle, I realized that there would only be one small problem with program - how would users possibly find books to borrow from other users?

Well I wouldn't call it a problem since the lending function is not meant to be used in a worldwide social network of strangers as if it were some extremely limited torrent site, but rather a way for you to lend books to friends and such. "How do I get friends?" is a valid question, however, and one I can't answer.

[coolbreeze]

Hah, I had this idea in 2009 when the nook was announced:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=250

Granted I did nothing with the domains, but it is a good idea.

Also, another guy recently had the idea as well:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=109188

Yes, these are for the nook, but the concept is identical.

I just think it would be easiest if MR created a nook and kindle sharing forum.

[intenex]

Haha, funny story coolbreeze. It's interesting that these sites aren't more popular - if we're able to get members together and really contribute to one network, it can really explode.

I've specialized the forum I've made so that it can do lending better than the typical venues seen on FB or as subforums elsewhere, implementing a credit system where users are rewarded and encouraged for lending books.

@OtterBooks - if there's one thing that taking Economics has taught me, it's that trade is a good thing for everyone involved ; )

@BaseKid - if you have non-DRMed books that are available for loaning, I see no problem in providing those to the community as well. There's no hosting of any book on the site, so it would only be providing information for other users.


If any of you are interested in helping out with the site, I'm currently in the process of recruiting for a moderator to help with management and site maintenance. Let me know if interested!

[OtterBooks]

@OtterBooks - if there's one thing that taking Economics has taught me, it's that trade is a good thing for everyone involved ; )

Oh I certainly wasn't saying it's a bad thing. People could use their Kindles to club baby seals and I wouldn't care, so long as it wasn't mine. The Kindle I mean; I don't own any seals.

[intenex]

Yes - I see that you're more of an otter person.

[Tiersten]

Its a nice idea but you're going to need a steady influx of new users with a large library. The limitations of the book lending system by Amazon are that it is only selected lending enabled titles, the loan is for 14 days maximum and that you can only lend a book out once ever. The last one is what is going to make this book lending forum/club difficult to sustain.

[nimblem]

May we post non DRM book to loan out, and simply email them to the one borrowing them?

[OtterBooks]

Originally Posted by nimblem

May we post non DRM book to loan out, and simply email them to the one borrowing them?

If they were public domain then it seems easier for people to get them directly. If they weren't public domain then I'm guessing there's possible legal issues.

[intenex]

Hey Tiersten - that's exactly the idea behind the credit system. This system is actually beneficial for Amazon, as it encourages users to buy more books in order to borrow more books.

The concept is that a steady influx of borrowable books should grow easily as the costs of buying a book are effectively cut in half, if you know that for every book you buy you can get one for free.

Thoughts on that?


Nimblem - yes, absolutely. I'll think of a way to implement that more seamlessly in the future, but if you want to do that now, feel free to, just add a tag that reads [no DRM]

Thanks for the support everyone!

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by intenex

Nimblem - yes, absolutely. I'll think of a way to implement that more seamlessly in the future, but if you want to do that now, feel free to, just add a tag that reads [no DRM]

Thanks for the support everyone!

Re: non- Amazon DRM-free files:
You're going to run into issues, potentially of a legal nature. The only reason there is a lending feature is because Amazon can control it. Otherwise it can defined as illegal filesharing unless the item is either open source/CC or in public domain AND that particular edition's licensing allows free distribution. I'm not just being alarmist here, I'd just hate to see you shut down for this.

[nimblem]

Well... I am guessing as long as the the person loan out the book deletes it from their device while it is being loaned out then the legal issues would be taken care of. I know that in reality the chance of the book being removed from either device during or after the loan period is slim to none.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by nimblem

Well... I am guessing as long as the the person loan out the book deletes it from their device while it is being loaned out then the legal issues would be taken care of. I know that in reality the chance of the book being removed from either device during or after the loan period is slim to none.

The first problem is that the legal issues haven't even been fully tested yet. The second problem is that the digital music scene has already taught us what happens to sites that facilitate filesharing. Do you remember the "old" Napster? I would really hate for someone to decide to use Intenex to set an example. It was only recently that a slew of sites got shut down for copyright issues - not just music and movies, but also counterfeit merchandise.

I'm certainly not implying that Intenex or you are looking to engage in deliberate piracy, but others will be, and allowing this on the site is like providing a matchmaking service for pirates. The honor system is not enough when you're dealing with strangers on the internet. I wouldn't even trust my friends to play by the rules on this, let alone someone I didn't know. Adding that capability to the site would attract the wrong kind of people.

As long as there is no control over the actual file, the way there is with Nook or Kindle, then no one can control who is doing what with those files. You said it yourself - the chances of people playing by the rules are slim. It's spelled out in the licensing when this is or isn't allowed. Some authors, publishers and retailers are awesome and don't infect their files with DRM because they are trusting people not to do this very thing.